Business process quality management: a step beyond continuous quality improvement.

Customer demands and financial pressures have forced hospitals to reassess the quality of their services and the efficiency with which they are delivered. A number of institutions have turned to continuous quality improvement methods to help streamline specific processes. For institutions to survive, however, they must look beyond specific processes to broader issues of scope of practice. One hospital's use of Juran's BPQM framework helped position the institution for future economic demands.